Stiles, Live Your Life You Must Christmas it is
by SourWolfSymphony
Summary: My secret santa gift to the lovely ofrosesandravenstags. Stiles has a rough time dealing with the holidays without his mom and with his dad constantly working. Derek saves the day; basically. A little bit angsty and a little bit fluffy. Am I nerding out to Yoda speak in the title as I wear my own Yoda Christmas hat? Noooooo... Why ever say that you would?


Derek expected Stiles to be one of those people to start counting down to Christmas on December 26th. He prepared himself for ugly Christmas sweaters, copious amounts of eggnog, an ungodly amount of garland, and Stiles' devious grin to make it all worth it. Derek picked up his phone for the fourth time in the past hour.

"Stiles. Pick up _now_ or I'm coming over. I don't know what's going on with you but get your ass… I'm worried. Okay? Just… Pick up. _Please._ "

Derek waited ten minutes before he grabbed his keys and ran to the Camaro. He slammed the keys into the ignition and took off toward the Stilinski house. He didn't bother with the door, opting for the window instead. He leapt up and slammed open the window.

Derek surveyed the situation with a grimace; Stiles was sprawled on the bed with a near empty bottle of jack, blanketed by Christmas cards worn on the edges and stained with age. The pieces of the puzzle began to click. Stiles' mom. Derek internally scolded himself for not realizing it sooner. All of the signs of grief were there; he should know better than anyone.

Derek hadn't noticed Stiles beginning to stir. He a heard a small croaky voice say, "It was my mom's favorite holiday."

Derek nodded his head, not knowing what else to do. Stiles looked at him with sad eyes and a silent plea to fix everything.

"Go take a shower, Stiles." Derek ordered.

Stiles dragged himself out of the room and into the bathroom while Derek got his phone out for the sixth time.

"Hello? Sherriff, it's Derek. We need to talk.

Derek wasn't one to mix himself into other people's business. When it had no place in a pack meeting, it wasn't _his_ place. This was different. This was _Stiles._ His Stiles. The boy he… He needed to fix it. He had to. That vacant person he'd just seen was not Stiles.

Derek walked up to the police station; he could hear his own heart beating faster than usual. He could take on kanimas and an alpha pack but Stiles' dad was… Something else. He was an alpha werewolf for fuck's sake; he could do this. He took a deep breath and walked into the office with purpose.

"Derek," The Sheriff said curiously, "What is it that you need to talk about?"

"Your son."

"Oh?"

"When was the last time you spent Christmas with him? When was the last time you didn't make him spend it alone?" Derek asked.

"Son, my personal life isn't any of your b-"

"I found him cradling a pile of old cards with enough whiskey in his system to knock over over a cow. Stiles is my pack. Stiles _is_ my business."

The sheriff had paled significantly; a look of guilt plagued his face.

"I usually try to take extra shifts around the holidays. It's too hard." The sheriff slipped out before he could stop himself.

"How do you think Stiles feels? Spending every Christmas alone, in her house, surrounded by all of the memories. Alone; on Claudia's favorite holiday." Derek asked gently.

The sherriff's face whipped up. "He told you that?"

Derek nodded and added "I think he needs to be with pack tomorrow. Can you get off and come to my house at five?" Derek asked.

"Sure, kid." The sheriff said.

If five years ago Derek had been told he would be throwing a holiday party for a bunch of teenagers, he would have laughed in their face. But Derek knew how hard it was to cope with loss on your own. He didn't want that for Stiles. The pack deserved a break; they all did.

Derek drove to the Stilinski house Christmas morning. He opted to use the door this time; knocking incessantly until the door was answered by a bleary eyed Stiles. Stiles stared vacantly at Derek, a silent challenge on his face.

"Can I come in?" Derek conceded.

Stiles pursed his lips and gestured into the house. Derek walked in without a word, unsure of how to break the tension. He walked straight into the kitchen, pulled out two mugs, and searched for the hot coco mix he knew had to be somewhere.

"Thanks," Stiles muttered with a suspicious glint in his eyes.

"I know how hard it is," Derek started. "To be… Without someone. I just… I don't want you to be alone. Like I was."

"I know." Stiles said softly. "Every year, I know. Scott gets worried, Dad gets drunk. It's just… Too much you know? I can't deal with people; I can't deal with the fucking memories. The last Christmas with her… She didn't even know who I was. That was… I hate it."

Derek looked at Stiles guiltily. "How about two people?" Derek asked. "Can you celebrate with two people? It can be just your dad and me."

"Dad's working. He always works on Christmas." Stiles said.

"Not this year he isn't." Derek said with a small smile.

Stiles looked at him hopefully; after a beat he launched himself at Derek. "Thank you." He whispered into Derek's hair.

"I got you something," Derek said.

He pulled out a Santa hat from the black bag. It had Star Wars written in green on the white fir and Yoda ears protruding from the sides.

"I saw it and thought of you. You don't have to wear it if it's… Too much." Derek said.

Stiles smiled wistfully at him and said "Mom and I used to watch them together."

Stiles tentatively reached his hand out and touched the hat softly. Derek looked at Stiles, asking for permission, and sipped the hat over his ears. Derek looked down to hide his smile.

"Hey, do you want to head to the car? I have to make a call." Derek said.

"Scott. You're not going to like it, but this is what Stiles needs and this is about him. It's just going to be him, the sheriff and I tonight. He can't do a big party with the whole pack. He wants to spend some time with his dad. Maybe next year. Can you let the rest of the pack know?" Derek said.

"I know, I know. Thanks for your help man." Derek said.

As they pulled up to Derek's loft, Stiles' jaw went slack with shock.

"It looks like a Christmas card." Stiles said.

Derek shifted his eyes and said, "Yeah, we may have gone a little overboard?"

"It's friggen snowing outside of your loft Derek. I think you surpassed overboard." Stiles quipped.

"Well… You know Scott…" Derek trailed off.

"Don't front. This was totally you. Trying to blame it on Scott. Really Derek? You can stop pretending you don't care. We all know you do." Stiles said.

They both walked into the house with small smiles.

Stiles was greeted by his dad at the door.

"Hi son. I know we haven't done the whole Christmas thing in a while, but I want to start now. Your mom would be so disappointed in me for avoiding it for this long. I'm sorry." He said uncomfortably.

"It's okay, Dad. I wasn't any better. But from now on… I wouldn't mind spending some time and just… Remembering her?" Stiles said.

"We can do that"

The sheriff awkwardly pulled a gift out from behind his back. "your mom…" He started. "Your mom wanted me to wait until you were 18, but I think now is the right time."

He handed Stiles a package wrapped in worn paper that was torn at the edges. Stiles held it gingerly and took a moment to ready himself for whatever was inside. He opened the package unsteadily to reveal a hand written note.

 _Dearest Kochanie,_

 _I asked your dad to give this to you at your high school graduation. Knowing him, he's either early or late. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I can't be there for all of your milestones. For all of the birthdays and Christmases. Your graduation, your wedding, I'm sorry baby. You've grown up so fast. I know it's hard to see me like this. I know there are going to be moments when I forget who you are, or maybe even become violent. But never question for a minute that I love you. I love you with everything I have. This thing can make me forget sometimes, but you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. I want you to live your life. I want you to be so, so happy. I know your dad is going to be hard to handle. He's not going to take this well when I'm gone, but please don't shut each other out. We didn't have a lot of time, Kochanie. This is your grandfather's pocket watch. I hope that when you look at it you remember how little time we all have. Live every minute of Kochanie, don't stop for me. Don't stop for your dad. Live._

 _Kocham Cię. – Mama._

By the time Stiles got to the end of the letter, his face was ashen and he was fighting back tears.

The sheriff looked on helplessly and Derek walked over to Stiles. "Hey, you don't have to hold it in for anyone here. If you need to cry, do it. No one is judging you, Stiles." Derek said.

Stiles walked over to his dad; the sheriff engulfed him into a hug. "She didn't show me the letter, she said it was just just for you." He muttered.

"I miss her, Dad." Stiles whispered.

"Me too son."

They ate dinner together in a mostly comfortable silence.

"I'm sorry, son but I have to head back to the station. Will you be okay with Derek?" The sheriff asked.

"Sure, Dad. Thanks… For this." Stiles said.

The sheriff gave his son another hug and smiled knowingly at Derek.

Derek cleared the plates and tossed them into the sink.

"I have something for you." Derek said softly.

"Derek, this was enough. You didn't have to get me anything." Stiles said.

"You know me well enough to know that I don't do anything I don't want to do." Derek replied.

Derek grabbed a present from under the tree and handed it to Stiles. Stiles grabbed it out of his hands and ripped off the wrapping paper. When he saw what was inside, he buckled over laughing. 

"Oh my God, Derek. Really?" Stiles held up a pair of Batman boxers with a cape hanging off of the band.

Derek looked up at him with a real smile.

"I thought they would make you smile."

"Mission accomplished, but I didn't get you anything…" Stiles muttered.

"I don't need anything. Seeing you… Like this. It's… enough." Derek whispered.

Stiles stared at Derek's shy smile for a minute before leaning in closer. Derek was transfixed on Stiles' face and closed the distance between them. Their mouths met for a slow, languid kiss that lasted for about a minute.

"About time. Christen that mistletoe we must." Stiles said in a poor imitation of Yoda.

Derek rolled his eyes and dragged Stiles to the doorway with a small smile.

Notes:

Polish translations:

Kochanie: Darling  
Kocham Cię. – Mama: I love you- Mom

Sorry if this got super depressing! I hope you like it and I hope it's fluffy enough. I see a lot of fics where Derek is the one without any holiday spirit, but I kind of wanted to switch it around and have Derek be the one coaxing Stiles into celebrating again. I hope I was successful? Happy holidays!

Also! Anyone who is following my other fic that I haven't updated in 5ever, I am hopefully going to have another chapter up soon and hope to finish it by the end of winter break before the hell of next semester begins. I haven't abandoned it! I promise! Thanks for the support guys!


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